The Night Before the Divorce, She Was Reborn to Before Her Marriage - Chapter 28

However, Zong Ning’s letter went unanswered for a long time.

Shortly after the letter was sent, Prince Xuan gave the order to launch a northern expedition. The Hu barbarians were completely unprepared and, being exhausted of provisions, suffered successive defeats.

Soon after the New Year month ended, good news arrived in the capital. Pusu City, which had been seized by the Liao Dynasty in a former reign, was retaken. After a separation of over a century, the Northern territory was finally reunified and its name was changed to the Great Yan territory of Danyang.

Emperor Jingwen was equally invigorated and exclaimed with emotion, “To have the Zong lineage is truly a great fortune for our Great Yan!”

Countless praises followed, too many to list.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Ning’s estate was so busy it had no time to spare for these matters.

It turned out that Madam Wei (wife of the Duke of Ning, in charge of household affairs), after finishing the wedding preparations for Ning Yu (her son), had caught a chill. The illness struck hard, and for several days, she suffered from a persistent high fever and was confined to bed.

Wei Ziyi (Ning Yu’s wife), as the daughter-in-law, waited upon her daily and personally attended to her care.

Even Ning Ran (second eldest daughter), who was pregnant, rushed over without concern for her child. Upon seeing the frail Madam Wei, she immediately burst into tears. “Mother.”

“Silly child, you are pregnant. What if my cold infects you? Hurry back. I will be fine in a few days,” Madam Wei said, coughing lightly and frowning.

Though Ning Ran insisted on staying, she could not argue against Madam Wei and was escorted out of the bedchamber by Nanny Li. Nanny Li pleaded with her earnestly, “Second Miss, please stop worrying the Madam. What is more important now are these trivial matters of the household. This is the only thing the Madam is worried about.”

Ning Ran paused, then sent someone to take her to the Qin Garden (Old Madam’s residence). As soon as she saw the Old Madam Ning, Ning Ran knelt down, tears streaming down her face. “Grandmother, my mother is gravely ill. I beg you to make the decision to let my Second Aunt handle the household affairs for now, or else my mother won’t even be able to rest and recover properly.”

Her crying was like rain falling on pear blossoms, making her seem truly pitiful.

The Old Madam Ning looked heartbroken and quickly helped her up, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief. She hadn’t wanted to interfere in the affairs between her two daughters-in-law, but things had reached a point where she had no choice but to step in. She said to Ruyi (her maid), “Quickly go and ask the Second Branch to come over.”

When Ning Fu and Madam Ning (wife of the Duke’s second brother) arrived at the Qin Garden, they saw Ning Ran wiping her tears and the Old Madam comforting her.

“Grandmother, Second Aunt,” Ning Fu called out softly.

“Second Aunt has arrived. Grandmother, please speak with Second Aunt first. I will return to my mother now,” Ning Ran said, smiling as she rose, and was helped out of the courtyard by Nanny Li.

What had transpired was now clear to all, but Madam Ning pretended to be unaware. “Old Madam, why did you summon me today?”

The Old Madam Ning sighed. “The affairs of the estate have always been managed by Madam Wei. Initially, I thought that since you never managed them, I would let you continue to be uninvolved. But now that Madam Wei is so critically ill, you should also take some responsibility for the household.”

In truth, the Old Madam Ning secretly hoped that the Second Branch could take charge. The First Branch was not adept at managing the estate. For the past twenty years, the Duke’s estate had been run only moderately well under Madam Wei’s management, but to maintain domestic harmony, she had to tolerate it.

Madam Ning smiled. “In my Elder Sister-in-law’s current condition, I should certainly help, especially since the Old Madam is speaking on her behalf. However, although I manage the shops my family gave me, I have no experience overseeing such a large estate as the Duke of Ning’s, and I’m unsure if I’m capable.”

Madam Ning had anticipated this ever since Madam Wei had claimed illness and taken to bed. It was not a matter she could easily refuse. Given that Madam Wei was “gravely ill,” if Madam Ning continued to push back, it would make the Second Branch look selfish and cold.

“Just do your best,” the Old Madam Ning said.

“However, I’m afraid I can’t handle these miscellaneous tasks alone. I will need the Old Madam to find an assistant for me,” Madam Ning considered and added.

“For this matter, you can ask the First Branch yourself,” the Old Madam Ning replied. It wasn’t appropriate for her to arbitrarily decide. The only available assistants were the two women from the First Branch (Madam Wei and Zhang Shi). If she chose poorly, the First Branch might complain.

The Transfer of Power

When Madam Wei saw Madam Ning, she sat up in bed and coughed incessantly. “I have already spoken to Madam Mu (a woman from the First Branch) and asked her to assist you. Younger Sister-in-law, you only need to help me for a short while. Once I recover, I will take over.”

In her heart, Madam Wei clearly knew that Madam Ning’s hesitation was a ploy to make her willingly relinquish her authority. However, once the financial affairs were handed over, she didn’t know how much the Second Branch might pocket. Similarly, Madam Ning knew that Madam Wei had preemptively approached Madam Mu because she feared Madam Ning would choose Madam Zhang (the concubine Zhang Shi) instead.

Despite this, both women were pretending to be confused while maintaining their polite formality on the surface.

Initially, Madam Ning wouldn’t have touched this hot potato; she perfectly understood Madam Wei’s intentions.

But a few days ago, her daughter had reminded her that the ones who truly could not tolerate the depletion of the treasury were the First Branch. Ning Yu and the Duke of Ning relied on the estate’s funds for social activities and relationship building. The Second Branch was not in dire need of money. The ones who lacked money would be the ones who felt the urgency.

Madam Ning felt suddenly enlightened. What did it matter if she accepted the task and spoke nicely? She might not even have to truly worry about it herself. It was better to take over and appear to be the good person.

She could be a hands-off manager and let Madam Mu worry about everything. In any case, Madam Mu belonged to the First Branch. If the First Branch, with malicious intent, tried to push any irreconcilable debts onto her, she could easily distance herself from it.

Later that afternoon, Madam Zhang learned that Madam Mu would be put in charge of the accounts, and she was furious.

It was one thing for Madam Wei to suppress her, but now even Madam Mu wanted to step over her?

Madam Zhang knew without a doubt that this was Madam Wei’s way of suppressing her, fearing that she would steal her position.

That evening, she went to the Heting Garden (Madam Ning’s residence) of the Second Branch for a short visit.

Madam Ning knew the reason for her visit and stated clearly, “I initially suggested you help me manage the accounts, but my Elder Sister-in-law did not agree. Today, she told me that she had already arranged things with Madam Mu.”

Madam Zhang said, “Madam, you don’t need to explain to me. I know exactly what’s going on. I am still young, and she fears I will give birth to a son. She has tried to trip me up even behind my back, let alone when it comes to matters of power in the Duke’s estate.”

Madam Ning remained silent.

“She is narrow-minded and deeply jealous, and she even dislikes you, Madam,” Madam Zhang was now sincerely standing on the same side as Madam Ning. She said earnestly, “I am already deeply grateful that you thought of finding me to assist you first.”

Madam Zhang genuinely felt that Madam Ning was a good person. Even with the former concubine, though she and the Second Lord grew estranged, Madam Ning never deliberately made things difficult for the woman. It was only a shame that the concubine had extended her hand toward Miss Four (Ning Fu).

If Madam Wei hadn’t been so suppressing, Madam Zhang initially wouldn’t have wanted to fight for favor, but if she didn’t fight for favor, she might not even survive.

She had once tried to show goodwill, but Madam Wei never gave her a pleasant look and instead persecuted her at every turn.

“Miss Four, come sit with me sometime,” Madam Zhang said with a smile to Ning Fu before leaving.

“Where is Younger Sister Five today?” Ning Fu acted closer to Ning He (Madam Zhang’s daughter), which would make Ning He’s life a little easier.

“She is reading in the courtyard. She has been very diligent in her studies lately. Does Miss Four want to go find her?” Madam Zhang asked.

“Perhaps another day. I need to go out to buy books today, and I’ll pick up two for Younger Sister Five as well,” Ning Fu smiled.

The Strategy Unfolds

After the New Year, the Qingtian Pavilion (Ning Fu’s shop) was bustling with activity.

Fu Jiahui placed a stack of silver notes in front of her. “This is the profit share for the month, Miss Four. Please count them.”

There were a full eight thousand taels, significantly more than before. This was after the division of profits. If she were running this shop alone, a year’s profit would be enough for her to spend for half a lifetime.

“The Heir-Apparent asked me to give this to you,” Fu Jiahui handed her a letter.

The letter was not written by Zong Si, but by Zong Ning. It stated that she had said many good things about Zong Duo in front of Ning Fu. By sending this letter to her, Zong Si’s meaning was clear: he was asking her to exercise some discretion.

Ning Fu thought to herself that the Cold-Faced Yama Zong Si was truly idle enough. Even while on the battlefield, he was still keeping an eye on her every move.

“Please tell Elder Sister Fu to tell the Heir-Apparent that he can rest assured,” Ning Fu said.

Fu Jiahui replied, “Since Miss Four is here today, why not write a reply yourself?”

Ning Fu considered it, then picked up the brush and wrote: The Heir-Apparent may rest easy.

After a moment of thought, she added a line: Wishing you a safe return.

She only intended it as a polite formality.

However, since she had received the silver today, her mood was good, and the letter appeared a little more sincere.

The Trap

After returning to the estate, Ning Fu began contemplating the matter of the household management. Leaving it entirely to Madam Mu, an amateur, meant the hole in the estate’s finances would surface even faster—and perhaps be even larger—than in her previous life.

Although Madam Wei was not skilled at managing the estate, she had twenty years of experience and had inevitably learned a few things. Just as Ning Fu didn’t understand household management before she got married, she became completely different after managing the Prince Xuan’s estate for three years.

Once the truth of the financial crisis came to light, it would be time to discuss the distribution of authority.

Madam Wei was initially smug about successfully shifting the burden to the Second Branch. However, after half a month, she sensed something was wrong. Madam Mu was nowhere to be seen all day, spinning like a top with busyness, while the Second Branch often leisurely drank tea.

But since she had thrown out the mess, it was better not to question it now.

Therefore, Madam Wei pretended not to notice.

It was not until Ning Yu’s expense requests for social engagements were denied three times in a row that Madam Wei went to question Madam Mu.

Madam Mu burst into tears and cried, “First Madam, the estate genuinely has no money left! I have already cut costs everywhere, but we are still spending more than we earn. If we approve this money for the Eldest Young Master again, we will have trouble covering the estate’s food and clothing expenses.”

Madam Wei naturally knew all this. Before handing the accounts to the Second Branch, she had already created a flawless ledger. It would take a lot of effort to find the problems earlier in the books. Even if the Second Branch wanted to investigate, they would first have to subsidize some of the deficit, as Madam Ning surely wouldn’t want the accounts to look bad under her watch.

Madam Wei wanted to pass on the mess because she had grasped this psychology: the Second Branch lady always treasured her reputation for the sake of her children’s standing.

Madam Wei frowned. “Since there is a problem, what does the Second Branch say about it?”

“Although the Second Madam agreed to manage the affairs, in the entire month she has been in charge, she has never truly managed anything. When she does come, she only glances at the ledger and listens to the steward report on the estate’s situation.” Madam Mu was miserable and dared not ask Madam Ning to take charge.

Upon hearing this, Madam Wei nearly fainted, so angry she felt she would vomit blood.